Untouchable
by music.means.love
Summary: Luke and Nikki have been best friends forever. But with a tragic loss and the big bad on it's way, will the two finally be able to cross that line and be more than just friends? Rated will change in later chapters. Language! Luke/OC Enjoy and REVIEW!
1. I'll Never Leave You

Untouchable 

Chapter One: I'll Never Leave You

I often tried to pride myself in believing in the value of my life. I always tried to find the best in every sticky situation, the light at the end of every cold, damp and decrepit tunnel. But to be completely honest with you, there are certain times in everyone's life when the only option left is 'fuck it'. I'm not saying I'm a coward, not at all, but when you are stood there, staring death in it's overpowering eyes you might as well light up and have a crafty fag before you are drowned in the fiery pits of damnation. Now was one of them moments. Maybe not quite as extreme to be facing death full on, but I could definitely feel death's presence hiding sneakily around a corner.

At that current moment in time, I was sitting in the middle of a pitch black forest with no form of a light source and no means of defense against whatever it was that was lurking in the trees not ten feet behind me. Fanfuckingtastic. There was mud everywhere, my idea of hell on earth. I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply, terrified of what I knew was about to come. Personally, I just wanted to get it over and done with. The cold air stung my face as I tried to concentrate on something, anything else for at least five minutes. I didn't hate many things in life, but winter was one of the few rare exceptions.

I heard a twig snap behind me. This was it. I tensed my muscles and braced myself. Deep breaths, Nikki. Don't give the game away. I silently told myself over and over again. I could not here any movement behind me, but I could sure as hell feel it. Then out of the blue, a voice that almost made me jump out of my skin then and there, whispered in a hoarse voice from what couldn't be a centimeter away from my left ear.

"This is no place or time for a young girl such as yourself to be out and about." I had to bite my lip as not to make the shudder that took over my body visibly noticeable.

"I was j-just…restless." I barely managed to spit that out as the freak laughed in a gurgled, serial killer kind of way. "But I'm okay n-now…so you c-can just g-go if you'd like?"

"No child, I'm quite alright here. It would be unearthly of me to leave an innocent like you all by yourself." Holy crap! I could hear my blood pounding in my ears as the thing next me exhaled all over my cheek. I almost screamed as I felt two scaly fingertips graze the side of my exposed neck. "You won't be missed…just an average young girl who entered the woods and never came out again. Such a pretty little thing you are," she ran her fingers through my long white blonde hair and chuckled "such a waste…such a -" The freak was cut of short and a terrible gargling sound erupted from it as it exploded in weird gunky stuff. I heard a young demon slayer emerge from the bushes and then a bright light illuminated my back.

"You know, I can honestly say without a doubt that I hate you right now, Luke Rutherford. Never speak to me again." I still didn't move from my position, I just buried my head in my tucked up knees and attempted to calm down my hysterical nerves. I could hear him laughing at me.

"Nikki, don't be like that. You were never even close to danger." I snapped my head up to see that he was now stood about a meter in front of me with a bemused look on his cheeky face.

"Not in any danger?! I was this close" I made a gesture with my cold hand "to becoming that, that thing's fucking sex toy! Deceased sex toy! And now, I'm covered in what scarily resembles spunk and this night all started out with you asking me if I wanted to 'go for a walk'!" I could see that it was causing him physical pain to not burst out laughing during my rant. Good. He deserved the pain.

"Look," he knelt down so his face was inches away from mine "do you honestly believe that I would ever put you in any kind of real danger?"

"Yes!" I answered straight away and then smiled at his fake pained expression. "Just take me home." I moaned out the last bit "I need a shower."

"Come on lets get you up." He put his arms underneath mine and hoisted me up onto my feet where, as soon as he had let go, I stumbled and fell straight over again, mud flying everywhere, I groaned in defeat and just let my arms go limp as he laughed at me…again.

"Fuck it. I'm just going to stay here for the rest of my days." As soon as I had mumbled that, I was hoisted off the ground and found myself clinging onto his neck as he carried me like a husband carries his bride. It was extremely patronizing. "I can walk, you know."

"Sweetheart, you just proved that statement wrong yourself about three minutes ago." His lips brushed against my forehead as he spoke. "I think we need to get you a cup of tea. You can stay at mine tonight." It was a fact not a question and I didn't have the energy to argue with him anymore, so I just let him carry me to his car and place me gently in the front passenger seat. We drove in silence. A comfortable silence, the kind of silence you get when watching television or listening to music. Except there was no sound, just the gentle hum of the engine and the occasional disturbances from the streets that belonged to the world outside.

"I'm sorry," he finally spoke but his eyes remained on the road, a good thing I guess all thing considered.

"What for?" I said it in a 'matter of fact' sort of way.

"If you think that I was putting you in danger. I don't want you to ever think that I would purposely put your life at any sort of risk." He glanced over at where I was curled up on the seat and smiled his multi platinum award winning smile, Any thoughts of doubt or anger I ever had towards him immediately vanished.

"Don't worry about it, I know you had the situation perfectly in control, I'm being silly…and I'm so fucking tired as well." He could my replying smile and then we went back to our comfortable silence for the rest of the journey home. "So where is the Galvinator anyways?"

"He was there, but he had to leave pretty much as soon as I had shot the freak, something to do with Mina. Oh, and will you please call him the 'Galvinator' to his face, I'm sure the results would be fucking hilarious." I giggled and hit his arm playfully, all the while his eyes straight ahead. Finally, we drove into the car park behind his building. It was impossible to see anything in the dark car park; I couldn't even find the door handle. I could feel Luke's eyes on me for a few seconds as I patted my hands all over the door, attempting to find some familiarity.

"Fuck off," I shot the comment at him and he erupted into laughter, "Shut up! Are you going to help me get this friggin' door open or not?"

"Say please,"

"Luke!"

"Say please," I sighed in defeat and turned to him, my shoulders slumped.

"Please Luke," I could sense him smiling triumphantly at me as I frowned.

"Of course, Nikki." He leant over me and opened the door without even a split second's hesitation as to where the door handle was, but of course the last Van Helsing would not be slowed down by little things like lack of sight like mere mortals would. I was however one of those mere mortals so therefore as soon as I stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut, I was in total darkness and couldn't even see my hand before my face.

"Shit!" I murmured into the blackness that surrounded me "Luke! Where are you?" I blindly stretched my arms out in front of me and began waving the around trying to come into contact with my best friend. "Luke!" I practically screamed "Where the fuck are you?!" At that moment I felt two strong arms wrap around me and pick me up in a fireman's lift. I would've screamed for real had I not heard his laughter. Bloody Van Helsing.

"You have no idea how funny you just looked," His voice was fainter than usual but that was only because I was on his back.

"Shut up…and put me down!" I kicked my legs to make my point.

"Oi, steady on. If I put you down you know you'll only end up lost." He had a point…but I would never let him know that he was right; I would never hear the end of it. Instead, I just made a groaning sound and let my legs go limp against his warm body. We eventually emerged into the light of the street lamps and he finally set me on my feet again. He saw the look on my face and repressed a smile. "god, you're moody tonight." I widened my eyes and glared at him.

"If I wasn't this tired…I'd kill you, demon slayer or no demon slayer." He put on a frightened face and then smiled. We walked into the building, his arm wrapped around me was the only thing keeping me awake, and stepped into the lift. Attempting not to fall asleep, I concentrated on his breathing. It was deep and it seemed to be focused. I gave in. "Luke, what are you thinking about?" I looked up at his deliberating face as we stepped out of the lift and into the hallway, his penthouse door just at the end. He met my gaze and his face lost some of its serious edge.

"Nothing just you know demons and shit."

"Fair dos," I didn't believe him, but it could wait for the morning. We got to the door and he rummaged in the pocket of his lucky leather jacket and pulled out a shiny silver key which he then twisted in the lock and opened the white door.

I adored Luke's penthouse. It looked like something out of Gossip Girl only a tad more modern. It was so open and light…and walking down those white steps made me feel like a superstar. He didn't really seem to appreciate his home as much as I did. I sighed as I took in the…cleanliness of my surroundings, so pristine, so perfect. And the Luke ruined it all by traipsing mud all over the polished floor and slinging his jacket on the kitchen counter. I raised my eyebrows at him and he just shrugged before taking out two mugs from the cabinet and making the tea. I took off my red duffle coat and hung on the cat rack by the door and then took off my leather flat boots and putting them on the shoe rack also by the door. Luke was so lazy; I felt sorry for Jenny.

"I'm going to go to bed. Bring it up to me," It was then his turn to raise the eyebrows "…please". He smiled and I made my way up those fabulous stairs of his. I collapsed on his double bed the moment I got in his room, forgetting everything else other than the softness of the bed. I made an 'mmmmmmm' sort of sound as I molded my head against the feather pillow. I could just feel myself drifted off when I heard him enter the room. I turned to look and saw him standing in the doorway with two cups of tea in his hand, he was smiling. It was then that I realized that this was the first time I had seen him like this in ages. He had been so broody lately that I had almost forgotten what the real Luke was like. Almost. I made a mental note to myself then and there that I must treasure these moments that I had with him, after all they were so very rare these days. He put the mugs on each of the bedside tables and the turned to look at me.

"Come on, you need to get changed."

"I have nothing to wear; I'll just sleep in these."

"Nik, you're covered in mud." He gestured over my body and I groaned for about the millionth time that night.

"Fine." I said, it was too much effort to use more than one syllable words. He went over to the large chest of draws to the right of his bed and began rummaging around holding up old tee shirts and tossing them to the side.

"Bingo," he murmured under his breath and he turned to face me. He leant on the drawer behind him to close it before chucking two garments at me and sitting by my feet. I cautiously picked up the blue tee shirt and immediately saw that it would swamp my tiny size six figure, but I could also see that it was probably the smallest shirt he had, so nodded in approval before moving onto the shorts or (in this case) a pair of plain black boxers with the batman logo on the side of one leg. I gave him a questioning look. "My mum got them me when I was fourteen, they're the smallest pair in there."

"Okay, no need to get all defensive about your choice in underwear," he opened his mouth to protest but I got there before him "Thank you, Luke. You're a life saver…literally." I chuckled at my own joke before (to my dismay) getting up off the extremely comfortable bed and entering the ensuite bathroom. I had a quick shower, just to get all of the mud off and get me smelling fresh again before putting on the newly formed pyjamas. I looked at myself in the floor length mirror and sighed. My hair looked knotty as it hung down to the middle of my back and my face looked so gaunt and pale. After finally accepting that nothing could be done at this stage, I used the black bobble wrapped around my wrist to shove my hair up into a messy ponytail.

When I walked back into his bedroom, he was already led on top of the bed reading one of those ancient books from the stacks that Galvin had basically given him as 'homework'. He had on him, a long pair of black sweatpants and he had decided to leave his top half shirtless, showing off the many more muscles he had acquired since he had become a demon slayer. I was so unbelievably different from him. For starters he towered at least a foot above me (he was always taking the piss out of me for my height) and also where as he was so muscley and strong, I had always been the petite one in our class and I was over denying that I was in fact a weakling.

I walked over to the left side of the bed as he lifted up the quilt for me to get in beside him. The warmth that omitted from his body was extremely inviting. I couldn't resist pressing myself into his side through the duvet and snuggling into the heat.

"Nikki Summers, what are you doing?" I opened my eyes to see that his concentration was now on my face, his book had been forgotten.

"I'm cold," I murmured as I sighed in the coziness of the situation. "and you're warm." He chuckled and sat up to drag the other cover over my covered form and tuck the blanket in around my chin.

"Better?" I nodded and he went back to reading his book.

"So when is this going to end?" I asked the question that had been bothering me since I entered his penthouse.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, when are you going to go back to the brooding demon slayer that's always moody?" He looked at me and sighed.

"Oh I don't know, tomorrow? Tuesday? An Hour?"

"I'm being serious. This is the first time you've been any fun in ages."

"I know." He played with a loose strand of my hair "And I am sorry. It's just sometimes…the world comes down a little too heavy, if you get what I mean."

"I know its hard Luke, I do. And I know that these past couple of months have completely turned your life upside down and I respect that you need time do deal with that, but I want you to try and remember that I'm still me. I haven't changed a bit and I'm always going to be here. Nothing you could do will ever push me away."

"Are you sure? I'm constantly worried that either it'll all become too much for you or I'll fuck things up so badly that you'll never want anything to do with me again." He was still playing with my hair, avoiding eye contact during our heart to heart.

"Never." I said. The word was so simple yet it somehow summed up everything that he meant to me. The conversation was over, we both knew that.

"Go to sleep, Nikki." It was then, just as my eyelids closed, that he did something very odd indeed. Without warning, I suddenly felt the softness of his fingertips as they caressed my cheek ever so lightly. I would've said something, but by then I was already entering the land of dreams.

* * *

* * *

I woke up on my own accord, and instantly wished that I hadn't. Even though I hadn't even opened my eyes, I could tell that it was late in the afternoon and that meant that not only had I overslept, it also meant that I would not sleep tonight. I was also having a case of that thing when you wake up and you've been asleep for a really long time and you feel sick in a weird way. I squinted my eyes open and closed them straight away, not expecting the blinding sunlight that would enter my line of vision. I stretched my arms out above my head before attempting to open my eyes for a second time. This time I was more successful. The light didn't hurt as much as I pulled myself up into a sitting position and let my head loll forward. I yawned and stretched once more before shifting my legs off the edge of the bed and sliding down so that my bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. I shivered as the cold air hit the rest of my body. I looked around the room and realized that I was alone, but I could hear the T.V on downstairs.

I slowly and groggily, made my out onto the landing and down those beautiful steps except this time; I didn't feel like a celebrity…I just felt like a walking, talking mess. I trailed my hand against the wall to try and retain some balance and not to fall down the stairs and land flat on my face. My eyes were still half closed as they took in the new surroundings that were the bottom floor of the penthouse. And there he was, sat casually on the sofa, watching the half one news. I groaned again…I really had overslept. He heard my little outburst, turned around and smiled.

"Hey sleepyhead." I grimaced and went over to sit next to him, bringing my knees up on the sofa and wrapping my arms around them.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" My voice sounded hoarse and croaky, I coughed to try and clear my windpipes.

"I tried and you bloody hit me!" I opened my mouth to deny but closed it again after realizing that that sounded a lot like something I would do when I was sleeping.

"Sorry," I smiled as I tried not to laugh. But I couldn't resist muttering under my breath "You deserved it." He stared straight ahead, smiled and then put his head in his hands.

"Right," He stated and I furrowed my brow as to what he meant. He looked at me with an evil glint in his eyes. My own eyes widened: I knew what was about to come.

"Luke…Luke!" He lunged and I jumped just in the nick of time. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could and I could hear him coming up after me. "Luke! Stop it!" I giggled as he chased me around the landing and around his mother's bed. He almost caught me when I ran out of the room but I carried on back down the stairs and around the dining table. He stopped on the opposite side and stopped me whenever I tried to run either way.

"I'd seriously consider apologizing if I were you," He said to me as he slowly walked around the table "I haven't killed anything for at least fourteen hours and my energy is at it's bloody peak right now. I shook my head and he lunged again but I used my lack of height to my advantage and ducked under the table and ran straight back up the stairs again. I did have a weakness against him though as my breath was coming out in short gasps and I was pretty sure that I was about to get a stitch whereas he wasn't even breaking a sweat. I had just ran into his room when he rugby tackled me onto the bed. He was careful not to land his weight on mine as we hit the soft mattress and he pinned my arms down and towered over me, his face so close to mine that I could feel his breath against my lips. I held my hands up and surrendered.

"Okay, you win…I'm sorry." He smiled at me his heart melting smile. And then came the awkward moment. His lips parted slightly as his gaze locked onto mine. His eyes were softer, more…_affectionate_. I had never seen him look like this before in my life. Truth be told it scared me. Not in the way that I felt threatened by what it looked like he was about to do, but by the fact that in that precise moment, every fiber in my body wanted him to kiss me. What the _fuck_ was going on? Luke was my best friend, always had been always would be. Sure there was a period in my life about three years ago when I had thought that I liked him. But then I had realized that I could never like him in that sense…or so I thought. He did that weird thing again, only this time I was awake and it was so much more intense. He took a loose strand of my hair and tucked it behind my ear before using the back of his hand to caress the length of my cheek down to the bottom of my chin where he sopped and tilted my head up ever so slightly.

'_You keep the fire burning,  
I'll keep the water running,  
We'll know it's over when they turn out the lights_

Who's high strung thinking about it  
Couldn't put the pieces together like they belong to one another  
Yeah you and me girl

Who dials that son  
And makes good girls go wrong  
The eyes of the night'

His phone went off in the far corner of the room. He sighed before (what seemed to be reluctantly) letting go of my chin and sliding off the bed. I stayed where I was and propped myself up on my elbows as I watched him pick up his phone, check the caller, roll his eyes and then answer the call.

"Galvin." His tone was unfriendly towards his godfather which was unusual as he was normally rather pleasant with him.

"Yes….I don't know…What I mean is…Yeah, I know but…Okay, I'll be there in half an hour." His eyes kept on drifting to me as he spoke but my eyes never left him. He slid his phone shut and dropped it back onto the black arm chair in the corner of the room. "I've got to go, duty calls. He nodded towards his phone as he made his way over to where I was.

"Let me guess," I spoke as I lifted myself up off the mattress "the vampire has seen some weirdo freak killing people and trying to take over London. And you, being the last Van Helsing and all must quickly head to the Stacks where you will be given information on this thing's whereabouts and will be handed a large and extremely cool looking gun." I walked over to the corner where all of my clothes were and picked them up and draped them over one arm.

"Pretty much," he went over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of black faded jeans and a bright red tee shirt that said 'Warning! Do not read this shirt'.

"See," I walked to his bedroom door, "I'm not as oblivious as you think. I'll be downstairs." I walked downstairs and put my boots on. I decided that I might as well just wear my duffel coat over these 'make do' pyjamas instead of putting those muddy clothes back on. I looked in the mirror and laughed when I saw that my coat made me look like I had nothing on underneath and showed an awful lot of leg. Truth be told, I looked like a flasher. But I was only going home so I didn't really see the point of making an effort. I knew that Luke would have a shower so I settled myself on the sofa and flicked through one of Jenny's magazines. Jenny was currently on a getaway break in Scotland with a buck of her Yoga friends and would be back in a week. I knew that Luke did miss her, although he'd never admit it. I was just flicking through the celebrity gossip column when he came downstairs.

"We ready to go?" His hair was tousled and it was obvious he had just towel dried it and ran a brush through it. Little droplets of water were dripping onto his tee shirt. He grabbed his jacket from where he had thrown it on the kitchen counter the previous night and opened the door. The events of not ten minutes ago had still not been mentioned. I ducked under his arm and went into the hallway as he locked the door and we stepped in the all too familiar lift. I leant against the back of the lift and sighed as I rested my head on my hand. I had a feeling that it would be a little bit awkward for quite a while before one of us finally got the balls to confront the other. I could assure you…it would not be me. We got to the ground floor and exited through the glass doors.

"Well, I'll be off. I'll see you later." He looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Are you shitting me? I'm giving you a lift."

"But-"

"Please, if you walk home dressed like that you'll have people chucking money at you for a quick fuck down an alley. I'm taking you home, _end of_." I didn't bother arguing with him, I didn't really want to walk home with my legs bare in the freezing cold anyway. We walked to his car and I was amazed to see the car park in the light as last night I couldn't see a thing. I sat in the front passenger seat and hoisted my feet up on the dash board. As soon as he sat down he glared at me and I instantly took them off and brushed where they had been with the sleeve of my coat. I only live three streets away so the journey was quick and painless with Luke and I exchanging light conversation and avoiding the subject that mattered the most completely and whole heartedly. He pulled up outside my building and I turned to him.

"I'm just going to wash my hair and get dressed so if you want I can be at the Stacks in about an hour?" I liked researching with them; it made me feel like a part of Luke's secret life.

"Yeah sure…that'd be great."

"Okay, I'll see you then." I leant forward to give him a kiss on the cheek before hopping out of the car and opening the door. As soon as he saw me close the door behind me, he sped off. As soon as I got in my apartment (which was no where near the niceness of Luke's), I stripped of and folded Luke's clothes in a neat pile on my bed. I entered the bathroom and took off my underwear and put them in the washing basket before turning on the shower and washing my body and hair. The heat felt so good against my cold skin that for a few seconds I closed my eyes and I seemed to melt in with the water.

I stepped out of the stand in shower and looked in the steamy mirror. I lifted one of my pale arms and slowly wiped my palm against the glass so I could look at myself. I dropped my arm to my side and my reflection stared back at me like ice. Could I love Luke? Could we ever break the friendship barrier? I deliberated this for a few stolen moments before shaking my head. We were just friends…best friends. If anything like that did ever happen it would ruin what I had with him, and I sure as hell wasn't ready to break my bond with Luke.

I flicked through my wardrobe until I found my wet look leggings and a long white vest to that had a picture of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen on the front of it. I grabbed my black leather flat boots and a black leather jacket before sitting down and applying my usual black eyeliner and lip gloss. I left my hair in its natural waves and grabbed my handbag. I was just grabbing my keys when I heard the front door open and close.

"Nikki, sweetheart?" My mother's voice called from the living room.

"Yeah Mum, I'm in my room." My mother knocked on the door twice before opening it and coming in to sit on the edge of my bed. She had her work suit on and her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She looked nice, better than I had seen her in ages. "Hey Mum. How was work?" She worked as a receptionist in a primary school about four miles away.

"Good, the same as usual. Luke rang last night and told me that you were stopping at his. I rang this morning but Luke said that you were still asleep and that you had had a rough night last night. Want to talk about it?" _Luke, you son of a bitch!_

"Oh it was nothing mum, really. We just went to a few clubs that's all…the usual." She smiled.

"Well, it's nice to see you having a good time. You should go out more often."

"I would, but you know, _college_ and everything."

"Of course…how are your classes going?" I was taking art and music. My mother would've rather me take something more (as she called it) productive but she also accepted that music and art were things that I wanted to pursue in life.

"They're great, I have to finish an art piece for next week and I haven't even started though,"

"You'll be fine. You're a great artist. Anyway I actually wanted to ask you if you'd like to have dinner tomorrow. Just the two of us, a nice girly night in. I feel like we haven't done anything like that in a while." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was by far the longest conversation I had had with my mother since her boyfriend broke up with her three weeks ago and now out of the blue she wanted to have dinner?

"Um…yeah, that'd be great Mum…I'll order pizza." I couldn't have stop the grin spread across my face even if I had wanted to.

"I'm looking forward to it." She got up to leave but then paused when she reached my doorway. "Oh and Nikki…I'm sorry about these past couple of weeks…my behavior was inexcusable."

"Mum stop, its okay. I understand that it takes time to heal." She rested one of her perfectly manicured hands on my cheek and I let my face lean into it. "I'm just going out for a bit, will you be okay."

"I'll be fine sweetie, God, what did I ever do right in this world to deserve a beautiful daughter like you?"

* * *

* * *

I was still smiling as I climbed down the ladder to the sewer that led to the Stacks. I couldn't wait to tell Luke about tomorrow. I had it all planned out. I would pick up a couple of chick flicks from Blockbusters (possibly something starring Hugh Grant) and then I would grab two margarita pizzas and a cheesy garlic bread from Dominoes Pizza, and I would have everything ready for when my mother got home at around sixish. I jumped down from the bottom step of the ladder and headed for the weird circular door thingy that was the entrance to the Stacks. I knocked on the door and shouted that it was me several times before Galvin opened the door. He rolled his eyes when he saw me and I gave him what I thought was my most fabulous smile.

"Ah dear Galvin, if you really missed me _that_ much you should've called. I would've been over in a flash. Anything for you." He grunted at my little act before beckoning me into the room and bolted the door behind me. I could see Luke biting his lip as not to laugh at my joke at Galvin's expense. "So…who's the freak?"

"We can't really find anything to match Mina's description exactly…but we know it definitely lower than a grade five so it's just a pawn for some other guy." Luke spoke up. Mina was sat on the small leather couch concentrating hard on something and Galvin had returned to searching the many bookshelves whilst Luke was sat around the centre table, book in hand and looking straight at me, a smile on his face. I sat on the chair next to him and grabbed the nearest book.

"So what sort of thing are we looking for?"

* * *

* * *

**Hi Guys,**

**What do **_**you**_** think? I ****love**** to hear from you so please SPEAK UP and REVIEW! I couldn't stop writing this chapter. I came up with so many ideas and thoughts for where this story will go and trust me…its all pretty exciting. What are you're thoughts on Nikki? I know that she is a completely different character, I tried to work with Ruby I really did but I just failed miserably every time so in the end I just thought screw it…and along came Nikki. I cannot stress how ****important ****it is for you to REVIEW…**

**I'll love you always, **

**нαℓσ**


	2. Even When The Darkness Takes Control

Chapter Two: Even When The Darkness Takes Control…

I said goodbye to Luke, Galvin and Mina as they headed off to fight the big nasty and then I made way to the shopping centre. I had money still from my birthday which was on September 22nd so I decided that a little splurging was in order. It was bloody freezing outside so the first thing I did was invest in a large and extremely wooly turquoise scarf, a black beanie and some plain black gloves. I wandered aimlessly in and out of shops. I saw so many beautiful clothes but I had no occasion to wear them to. I had an idea to ask Luke to throw a party at his apartment for all of our college friends. I could imagine that his place would go down a treat with all the other students, we could have disco lights and a bar and a DJ booth…okay maybe I was getting a little a head of myself but I really wanted a good party.

It was now ten past three which meant that I had less than an hour before the shops closed. I quickly ran into Top Shop and bought myself a cropped grey denim military jacket that I instantly fell in love with (even though it was sixty five pounds). I was just walking out when I saw a stunning pair of high heeled, peep toe boots in a shop window and I simply had to buy them…it was a need not a want. My last stop was Café Nero and I grabbed myself a chocolate brownie and a caramel frappuccino. It was a wonder that I wasn't morbidly obese with the way that I ate. I decided to walk home. Although it was basically minus thirty degrees, there was a bit of sunshine out which was much more than we had had in about two months. I also had just bought my winter wear and it was nice to show them off.

About twenty minutes later, I seriously regretted the decision to walk home. I couldn't fell my toes, my fingers, my nose and various other body parts that felt like they were about to drop off. I was still about a mile away from my house and my feet no longer had the will to live.

'_You hit me once  
I hit you back  
You gave a kick  
I gave a slap  
You smashed a plate over my head  
Then I set fire to our bed'_

My phone sang in my hand bag as I fished around trying to find it. I eventually pulled it out and answered it when it was just about to go to the answer machine. I didn't have time to check the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hey Nik," It was Luke…what a surprise.

"Hey, how did the killing spree go?" Wow there was a sentence I never thought I'd say "Did you get the freak?"

"Yeah, well…kind of…" He sounded like he was holding something back.

"Luke? What happened?"

"Well we got the one that Mina saw but…There were no traces of it's controller so we're still completely in the dark…we don't even know what he looks like. Anyway Nikki, I called to ask you to meet me at mine…" I groaned and he heard it "What's wrong? Are you busy?

"No, I just made the worst decision in my life and decided to walk home…I'm about a mile away from mine."

"Right…I'll pick you up, where are you?"

"Luke, its fine…I'll get a bus or something."

"Shut up, where are you?" I laughed down the line.

"I'm just coming up to the Spar on Swansburrough Road."

"Wait at the corner; I'll be there in ten." He hung up so I couldn't argue again. I sighed, my breath visible in front of me, and pout my phone back in my bag. The Spar was visible in front of me, about three hundred yards away. I walked quickly, planning on watching out for Luke inside the warmth of the shop. I was fully intent on buying a magazine and a chocolate bar when I got there as well; the chocolate brownie had not satisfied my sugary needs. When I entered the shop, I checked the clock on my phone; I had approximately four minutes before Luke came. I grabbed myself a copy of _Heat!_ Magazine and a milky bar (white chocolate was by far the best) and waited in the line to pay for them. I had been wrong; it was still as cold in here as it was outside if not colder. I was just paying when I saw Luke's car pull up on the curb.

I ran to his car and pulled open the door, sliding in and slamming the door shut quickly. I exhaled deeply as the warmth of his heater surrounded me. I held my hands in front of the blower and shivered as the heat tickled my fingertips.

"Cold?" His voice was sarcastic and I gave him my most evil glare.

"No shit, Sherlock." I whispered as he sped off.

"That scarf looks good on you."

"Cheers," I stared out of the window and watched the streets pass on the other side. "So what's going on? Why do I need to come to yours?"

"It's really about this whole thing…you'll understand when I show you." And that was the end of my suspicion…_not_. The rest of the drive that followed remained in silence, an awkward silence to my dismay. It constantly felt like one of us was just about to say something but held their tongue right at the last minute. It was safe to say that it wasn't very comforting. But luckily, I was now toasty warm. We pulled into the car park as per usual (it was only just getting dark so I could see my around fine) and headed up to his marvelous penthouse. Everything seemed to go so much slower in this weird silence mode. The lift journey was hell and it felt like it would never end. I couldn't help as I let out a sigh of relief as we waited outside his door as he got his key out.

As soon as I steeped into this oh so familiar apartment, the memories came flooding back…and so did the questions. Would we have kissed if Galvin hadn't called? Would we have had sex if Galvin hadn't called? Would we be in a full functional relationship now if Galvin _hadn't_ called? I paused at the thought of the third question before shaking my head to myself. Luke and I were _just friends_. Best friends if anything, it had been that way forever.

Luke did his usual trick of chucking his jacket and shoes all over the place whilst I (being the sensible, loving and kind girl that I am) hung and put them away neatly.

"Just wait here, I'll be back in a minute." He said before disappearing upstairs. I did as I was told and sat down on their plush sofa and read one of Jenny's magazines again. He was true to his word and came down not a minute later holding a rather large mahogany box in his hands. To me it looked extremely heavy but Luke looked as though it were as light as a piece of paper. He did not make eye contact with me as he placed the box on the glass coffee table at my feet and slowly unlocked the latches on either side of a beautiful gold handle. He paused for a moment before opening the box and revealing what was within. At first I couldn't figure out what the hell the strange object before me was but then, as I took in all of the intricate detailing and all of the far too futuristic looking accessories, I realized.

"Luke? Are you going to shoot me?" I stared at the shiny black gun in front of me as he chuckled.

"No Nikki, I'm not…but don't tempt me." He gave me an evil grin and I made a face of a scared person and used my palms to 'fake' surrender. Then his face became serious; so serious, it sent a slight shiver tingling down my spine. He sat down next to me and looked me dead in the eye. "Nikki…something serious is happening. I shouldn't be telling you this but well, _I _think that you have the right to know." That obviously meant that Galvin and Mina disagreed, "Something's coming, something bigger…more dangerous than you could possibly imagine. You have to be on your guard Nikki…at _all_ times."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'more dangerous'?" I could see in his eyes that he had definitely sensed the panic in my voice.

"I can't explain that Nikki…you have to understand…they _will_ kill you if you know. But it's bad…worse than I or even _Galvin_ for that matter has seen, well, _ever_." He took one of my hands which were led on my lap and drew circles on my pale skin with his thumb. "I won't…" He started before cutting himself short and lifting his head up to look me in the eyes "I _can't_ lose you. No matter what…I…I just can't." I was speechless…what the hell did this mean? I saw the pain in his eyes and understood fully that whatever was coming, he was scared.

"Luke…" I spoke softly "it's going to be okay, I'm always going to be here by your side, it's just who I am." He sighed and rested his head back against the sofa.

"You know sometimes I think it might've bee easier to have not told you about all of _this_," He gestured to the gun that was still on the coffee table "It would've been _so much_ easier, _you_ would be far safer for starters…" He looked at me again, his piercing gaze reaching out into my soul "but I'm much too selfish for that." I looked at him, one eyebrow raised in questioning "Do you honestly believe that I could do this without you? Or that I could just let you go? I _can't_ lose you." He repeated and then gave me a smile that made my heart melt. As I lifted my bare feet up to the comfort of the plush sofa he did yet another _strange _thing. He slowly pulled my over into the crook of his arm before wrapping that same arm around me.

I couldn't believe it. From anyone else's point of view we would have looked like an idyllic young couple…but _we_ weren't a couple. We were _just friends_. I knew that and I was sure he knew that. But then why was I not untangling myself from him. Instead I found myself doing quite the opposite as I leant my head against his hard chest. His body was so warm as his chest raised up and then back down again. I found that I fitted against him perfectly, almost as if we were two parts pf a jigsaw puzzle. _But we weren't_. I had to remind myself. But, since I was so comfy…I didn't mind at all as he brought his other arm over to wrap around me protectively. "I will _never _let _anything_ hurt you." He whispered into my ear as I found myself closing my eyes and entering a sort of dream state. I was still awake (I wouldn't miss this moment for the world), when I felt a light pressure on my forehead as his lips came into contact with my skin. I was too happy to ask about it. I knew that we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend and that we never would be. This was just…a friendship embrace. Yeah that's it. I would never let anything hurt him either, he was my best friend. Plus it wasn't as if we were exactly 'getting it on' on the couch.

He brought his arm up slowly to remove wisps of hair from my face and tuck them behind my ear. I had to concentrate on my breathing as I realized that I had been holding in the same breath for nearly a minute. It was as if I was inside a bubble of comfort. I could feel all of my worries and doubts fading away like a shadow in darkness. Instead, my head was filled with soothing words of assurance. Assurance that all of the darkness would run away petrified and just me and Luke would remain. I didn't know how long we had been sat there like that, in perfect serenity, but when I opened my eyes I saw that the sky had turned into an orange and purple canvas that was slowly getting darker. I moved slightly to check the red clock on the wall and saw that it was twenty to five.

"Luke, I should go…I need to sleep in my own bed tonight." I hesitantly removed myself from the depths of his warm embrace and grabbed my coat and shoes; I could feel his eyes on my back the entire time.

"Yeah, sure…I'll run you back."

As soon as I woke up, I wish I hadn't. I could tell that it was still early even though I didn't open my eyes just for a second. I had that feeling…you know, that 'kind of sick, kind of not sick' feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you have woken up too early. I groaned into my pillow, not daring to move my neck in case of spasm. I really did not have the energy to 'un crick' my neck. I could see faintly through my eyelids that although I had assumed it was early, the room was filled with daylight which in the winter only arrived at about nine-ish. That wasn't too early, just the right time actually…so why was I feeling like this? Unless…

I slowly opened my heavy eyelids and peaked at the silver digital alarm clock on my right bedside table. _Shit_. 13:37…I had overslept ,_big time_. Oversleeping was the only other time you could get that weird feeling. My mouth was all dry and tasted like gone off vinegar (not that I had ever tried gone off vinegar). I scraped my teeth down my tongue (yucky, I know but it usually works) to try and freshen my mouth before groggily getting out of my bed and walking out into the hall and across the small space to the bathroom. My mother would be well at work now what with it being two hours until the kids were leaving school so I didn't have to worry about waking her up if she was running late or making her breakfast. When I came to think about it, this was the most stress free morning I had had in a long time. Well, excluding yesterday. Yesterday hadn't been stressful but it had been very…awkward and abnormal to say the least. I took my time in the shower as I was in no rush whatsoever and washed my hair before brushing my teeth and returning to my bedroom to attempt to tame the beast that was otherwise known as my hair.

My natural hair was a sort of light and sandy blonde but as soon as I was sixteen and out of school I marched down to the nearest chemist and bought eight bottles of white platinum blonde hair dye and it had been that way ever since. My mum threw a hissy fit when she saw it but eventually rolled her eyes and said 'it's your hair, if you want to ruin it then that decision is up to you'. Luke had been slightly more understanding. That was the understatement of the year, he _loved_ it. For about a week afterwards he couldn't stop staring at my hair and playing with it. Three weeks later, I landed myself with my first real boyfriend.

His name was Nathan and I met him at a friend's party in the last week of August. He was really into his music like me and he was in a band called '_Hey Fiona'_. I was heartbroken when he told me that he had gotten a scholarship in America for a Music Academy and that he would be leaving that November but nevertheless, we had an amazing two and a half months together. Luke and I had quite a big argument when Luke told me that Nathan was only using me for those two months and that I was worth more than that. Then he had used the words 'If you carry on with this then you're just a worthless whore' and there was no denying that that had hurt tremendously, I walked out then and there and refused to answer his calls until Christmas day where he apologized and said that those months had been hell without me. That had made me smile. Plus he did look like a wreck so it was hard not to forgive him when he gave me those puppy dog eyes.

So everything had gone back to normal that is until the Galvinator came and sprung all of this Demon crap on us. Nathan and I still emailed each other but I never told Luke this, there was no need to cause another argument. I eventually manage to smooth my hair into its natural waves and applied my usual eyeliner and clear lip gloss. I flicked through my wardrobe and eventually decided on a long purple checkered dress shirt, denim leggings and a cute pair of black leather (fake leather, I wasn't exactly what you would call loaded) flat boots. Perfect with my new scarf and duffel coat. _No time to eat_, I told myself as I marched past the kitchen and straight to the front door after grabbing my black over the shoulder bag. As I was locking the front door, my phone began to sing in my pocket.

_Breathe in for luck._

_Breathe in so deep._

_This air is blessed, you share with me._

_This night is wild, so calm and dull._

_These hearts, they race, from self-control._

_Your legs are smooth, as they graze mine._

_We're doing fine._

_We're doing nothing at all._

_My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me._

_So won't you kill me?_

_So I die happy._

_My heart is yours to fill or burst,_

_To break or bury, or wear as jewelry._

_Whichever you prefer._

Dashboard Confessional's '_Hands Down'_ reached my ears as I fumbled around in my bag searching for it. My fingertips managed to scrape across the smooth white surface of my iPhone (a birthday present from Luke that I had fought against accepting but he eventually won by saying he would break it if I didn't take it) and answered as it was just finishing the last line of the ring tone.

"Hello?" My voice was rushed as I ran to slip through the closing lift doors.

"Hey, Nik…you alright?" Luke's voice immediately calmed me down.

"Yeah, hey Luke. I just couldn't find my phone that's all." I could hear him release a breath through the phone receiver.

"Good. Anyway, do you want to go and see a movie or something tonight?" I stopped as I was walking to the lobby doors.

"This is Luke right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing, it's just you've kind of been really busy lately what with all of this demon crap. I thought that you said the 'big bad' was coming or something…shouldn't you be out with the Galvinator saving the world?"

"Well… I just wanted to-" I cut him off.

"I'm _fine_, Luke. Seriously. You don't have to spend every second of every day with me just to protect me. I'm okay." I found myself smiling at the thought of him trying to keep me from harm's way. "Also, I can't go tonight as it is. I have an evening of chick flicks and pizza planned with my _mummy_."

"Really?" He sounded surprised but I didn't blame him. He of all people knew what my mother had been like for the past couple of weeks.

"Yes _really._ She came to my room yesterday and said that we should do something. _And _that she was _sorry_."

"Nikki, that's great…why didn't you tell me yesterday?" Suddenly all the happenings of yesterday flooded towards me. The almost kiss in his room and the whole 'him holding me like we were romantically involved' situation.

"Um…I guess I just got preoccupied." He seemed to understand what I was talking about as he stayed silent for a bit after that. He finally spoke and I let out a sigh of relief.

"You're probably right anyway…I should be researching or something."

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow I guess," I being this way with him. Why couldn't we just go back to when we were _just _best friends? When there was no awkward moments or weird tension between us. But we had crossed a line and I knew that. There was no going back now until we talked about this.

"Yeah, have fun with your mum." I could sense that he was going to cut off the line so I acted on instinct.

"I love you, Luke." We had said it countless times before and it always meant the same thing…_friendship_ love. Nothing more, nothing less. I held my breath as I waited for his response.

"I…You too." And then the line went dead. And my heart painfully fell onto the cold pavement.

I was stood in the centre of _Blockbusters_ in town holding two different films in my hands. The first was the ever so classic _Notting Hill_ starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts and the other…well it wasn't exactly what you would call classic. It had just caught my eye that's all. _Sid and Nancy_. When I was fifteen, I had gone through a sort of obsession with the legendary Sid Vicious. I had seen the movie of him and his drugged up sweetheart countless times before now, analyzed it even for my first year college assignment. But this film brought back so many memories. Happy memories that is, when the world was right and not completely turned upside as it had been this past year. I found myself reminiscing over these memories as I stood in the middle of the isle gazing at the back of the pink DVD.

_It had taken me forever to get Luke to watch the film with me, the film that I had been obsessing about for weeks now. Sid and Nancy. My room was covered in pictures of the Sex Pistols and the two young lovers themselves. My wardrobe was filled with printed tee shirts and the film itself had a preserved spot on my DVD shelf._ _Luke at first called me insane and had said that he would not watch this crazy monstrosity that had converted me into such a lunatic. But I just gave him my puppy dog eyes and when that didn't work I told him that I would watch all of the Die Hard films back to back if he did this for me. Now __that__ had been a long and boring night. But it was all worth it in the end as there he was, sat cross legged on my blue couch eating the popcorn that I had specifically told him __not__ to eat until I had put the film on. I just rolled my eyes at him and pressed play on the DVD's menu. _

"_This is shit." I nudged him with my elbow. "I'm just saying…you watch some crap tv, Nikki." Another nudge._

"_Well don't 'just say'. I never once complained when you made me sit through Bourne Identity did I? And let me tell you, Luke Rutherford. I have never been so bored in my life. So just shut up because we still have an hour and a half to go." He groaned and turned his attention back to the television set. About fifteen minutes passed before he spoke again. It was now my turn to groan. _

"_Just for the record…Bourne Identity is one of the best films that man has ever invented." _

"_I never said it wasn't, but it's not exactly my cup of tea now is it Luke?"_

"_And this" he gestured with his hands towards the television screen where Sid was in America on the phone to Nancy. "is mine?" he had a point but I just decided to ignore him and hope that he would eventually be quiet. Lucky for me, he was until the credits began to roll. "Thank God for that! Why do you like that film so much anyway?" I sighed and lifted myself up from the sofa to put the disc back in its case. _

"_You're a boy- Scratch that, you're an ignorant boy…you wouldn't understand." _

"_Try me." I slowly sunk back down to the couch and twiddled with the DVD in my hands. _

"_It's just…they loved each other __so__ much that they weren't willing to live without one another. I don't know about you, but I'd give anything to be able to find that when I grow up." I looked at him and saw that is eyebrow was raised. _

"_So you want to find someone who will pump you with illegal substances and stab you several times in the gut?" I knew he wouldn't understand._

"_No…I guess I just want what everybody wants…to be happy with someone I love." He gave me a funny look and opened his mouth to say something but he must've though better of it as he clamped his mouth shut almost straight away. We sat there staring at each other wordlessly for several minutes before he finally spoke up. _

"_Me too." _

I shook myself out of my own childhood past and slowly put the DVD back on the shelf where it had come from. It was amazing now, two years on, everything had changed completely and we were now facing what was apparently the biggest evil that the world had ever seen. 

**Tell me what you think**

**musicmeanslove**


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